IBM wins $297m Friends Provident deal

18 December 2008

IBM has won a 10-year 200m pounds ($297,3m) contract from UK-based financial services group Friends Provident to provide software, hardware, and services, as well as upgrade hardware and provide on-demand mainframe capacity.

The deal will involve the transfer of approximately 200 employees to IBM and will be completed by March 2009.

Trevor Matthews, chief executive at Friends Provident, said: "This is a big step forward in achieving our targeted 40m pounds ($59,46m) of annual cost savings by the end of 2009. By partnering with IBM, we will gain access to the latest processing power and the expertise to improve our service and technology further."